I ordered a £544 phone from Amazon. A tracking update later informed me that it “may be lost” and I could request a refund. I pressed the refund option and was directed to customer service, which insisted I wait a week to claim.
A week later I was told I needed to file an incident report from the email address associated with my account. When I complied, the report was rejected as coming from an address that “didn’t meet certain security standards”.
I am now in the paradoxical situation that if I use the address associated with my account, it doesn’t meet their standards, but if I use a different address, it is not the one associated with my account.
Now, when I check the order page, it says I requested to return the item (I didn’t), and that it will issue a refund once I do so (I can’t, as I never received it).
Amazon has taken the first two monthly instalments of £108, while I remain phone-less.
SH, London
The company’s apparent contortions to avoid a pricey payout are, in my opinion, shameless, and it is by no means to its credit that it stumped up instantly when exposure loomed.
It issued a refund within four hours of my getting in touch, and gave you a £50 voucher as “an additional gesture of goodwill”.
It says: “We are sorry for the inconvenience our mistake has caused.” .
Others left empty-handed and hundreds of pounds out of pocket can, when all else fails, make a chargeback claim for the sum from their debit card issuer or, if they paid by credit card, ask for reimbursement under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act.
We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at consumer.champions@theguardian.com or write to Consumer Champions, Money, the Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please include a daytime phone number. Submission and publication of all letters is subject to our terms and conditions.
